The past decade has seen an exponential increase in the adoption of emerging technologies, resulting in an unprecedented amount of data being generated. Predictions suggest that by 2025, 463 exabytes of data will be generated daily. However, who controls this data remains a significant issue.
Giant tech corporations like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft store massive amounts of data, which smaller companies often outsource their data management needs to. This means that companies have limited authority over their data storage, management, and security. Google Analytics is a perfect example of this, as companies using the tool only have access to the portion of their data that Google deems accessible, with the underlying original user data belonging to Google.
As a result, many modern businesses are starting to see data control as a business advantage. This has led to a significant pushback against companies looking to monopolize the data market, with new trends revolutionizing the data industry.
Google plans to release Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on July 1, 2023. This update promises better tracking of user activities across apps and devices, but it won’t allow companies to import their previous data, rendering it read-only. This disruptive move by Google has caused some companies to build their analytics tools instead of outsourcing their proprietary data to Google. Some European countries have also revisited data legislation, with France, Austria, and Italy banning Google Analytics from their websites.
The increase in online adoption during the pandemic led to a significant shift in the daily activities of many sectors. However, many organizations decided to outsource their data management to third-party platforms, leaving them at the mercy of these platforms to decide what data they have access to. This inhibits scalability, leaving many companies unprepared for future growth.
In conclusion, data control has become a hot topic in 2023, and many modern businesses are starting to see it as a business advantage. Companies that want to take control of their data will need to find ways to store, manage and secure it themselves to prevent their growth from being inhibited.
